My sourdough starter and I have had a long committed relationship… but it wasn’t always that way. In fact, I even had a more toxic relationship with another quite some years ago. We would argue and fight constantly and more than once I threatened to toss him out with the trash if he didn’t shape up and treat me right. I finally did give up… partly because I neglected him so long in the back of the fridge he actually froze to death. (Sorry again about that…)
But I’ve grown since then and was ready to try again, as long as there was balance. And this time around I went about things more educated and ready to work on things. Now Blobby Flay and I can say we are both quite happy. And I want to share some guidance for you and your significant sourdough other… some relationship guidance if you will… so you can enjoy all sourdough has to offer without it taking over your life!
If you’ve made it through all that gibberish and are still reading than I know you are serious about sourdough! First off I want to say there are many many ways to maintain a sourdough starter and many trains of thought. There may be some that are wrong, but many are all right at the same time. I am in a sourdough group on facebook and it’s almost comical all the opinions flying.
I am not going to get into creating a starter because honestly, I’v never done it and have no desire to. If you really want to I would divert your attention to King Arthur Flour, as they have clear instructions on their website for beginning one. I actually purchased my starter from them and I would suggest doing the same or finding one from a friend. Sourdough people love to share and are always excited to get someone else addicted to the craft! So let’s assume you all ready have one. Now what to do?
STORING:
I use a King Arthur Flour sourdough crock and it works really well. Large enough to hold a little extra for the extra enthused. Any crock with a loose fitting lid works well. Just nothing airtight, you want gasses to be able to escape. I keep mine in the fridge and bring it out about once a week to feed and use. Sometimes a little more… occasionally less. I have even gone 2 or 3 weeks without feeding and was fine but I definitely shoot for every week.
APPEARANCE:
When I remove the starter from the fridge there may be some liquid on top. This is totally normal. As long as it isn’t moldy you’re good to go. The liquid is just a byproduct of the yeast that is growing. Either pour it off or stir it in. The longer you’ve gone between feedings the more liquid you’ll probably have.
FEEDING:
Before feeding plan out what you’ll be making (if anything) or if this is just a maintenance feeding.
Measure out how much starter you want to feed. I tend to have a good amount of recipes I want to make and loaves to take to friends. So many times I feed ALL of my starter. But let’s just assume you’re sane and don’t feel the need to have a gallon of sourdough starter. Keep in mind you’ll be feeding it twice. So what you start with is going to increase.
I like to feed in the morning. So by 9 am I pull it from the fridge and measure by weight using a scale. Let’s say I have 4 ounces of starter (or that’s how much I want to feed, and keep the rest to use as “discard”)
I add 4 ounces of lukewarm water and 4 ounces of flour.
If you don’t have a scale, this will be approximately 1/2 cup starter, 1/2 cup water, and a scant 1 cup flour.
I just use unbleached all purpose flour. I have heard of bleached flour causing issues with sourdough so I wouldn’t recommend that. I know some people use rye or whole wheat but as much as I love using whole grains for simplicity sake I just stick with plain AP flour for feeding my starter.
This is also a good time to wash your crock. Some people feed it directly in their storage container but I find it’s easier to transfer to another container.
Mixture will be thick and kind of gloppy.
Leave on the counter for 10-12 hours loosely covered. When you go back to it it should have about doubled in size and be full of happy bubbles.
Happy sight! Now you’ll repeat the same process again.
NOTE: Sometimes I use some now as “fed” starter. But I always feed it once again before putting back in the fridge.
Weigh out starter and add equal parts (by weight) flour and water.
Leave loosely covered on the counter overnight, for another 10-12 hours.
Good morning beautiful!
You can switch this up by feeding in the evening first, then again the next morning.
Now it is ready to use as “active” or “fed” starter. Remember to save some for next time! Just don’t fill your container too full. Leave a little room for growth. Once I filled my crock nearly to the brim and the next day I woke up to this! Blobby Flay belched during the night and what a mess that was to clean up!
Some things to remember going forward:
If you want a more pronounced sourdough flavor there needs to be a good long period of the recipe where the dough is resting in the refrigerator. This creates both flavor and structure. While it does take time, this is my favorite way to make sourdough bread. You just can’t get the flavor any other way!
As far as proofing and baking goes, my preference is to proof in a banneton. It creates a beautiful coiled pattern. If you don’t want to use one you can use any bowl to create your shape, but either way spray with water and dust with rice flour. This is important. Because rice flour is gluten free the dough won’t absorb it . If you don’t have any just pulverize some rice in your blender, same thing.
For baking I really prefer using an cast iron dutch oven. Pictured below is a little experiment. The top 2 were proofed in pyrex bowls and baked on a piece of parchment on a baking steel.
The bottom right was proofed in parchment lined stainless mixing bowl, then lifted out by the parchment and baked in a stainless pot, the bottom left side was proofed in an banneton and turned out onto a parchment strip that acted as a sling and baked in an enameled cast iron dutch oven.
I’m probably forgetting lots of important things. But that’s the thing with sourdough. The more you use it, the more you learn. I will add any tips I think of but don’t get overwhelmed! Blobby Flay and I wish you all the yeasty happiness in the world!!!
